1. Field
The present invention relates to an in-vehicle mobile-terminal holding device, and relates particularly to an in-vehicle mobile-terminal holding device which can detachably hold a mobile terminal at a position allowing a driver to easily see and operate the mobile terminal, without affecting the operability of peripheral parts, and which also takes into account appearance while holding no mobile terminal.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, the functions of mobile terminals such as mobile phones have been widened, and smart phones having not only a verbal communication function and an e-mail sending and receiving function but also a navigation function have become widespread. In view of this, one possible use of mobile terminals is that the mobile terminals are placed inside vehicles and used as navigation devices. For such possible use inside vehicles, the vehicles are desired to include a holding device to hold a mobile phone at a position allowing the driver to see and easily operate the mobile phone. Moreover, the holding device is desired to have a structure which not only allows a mobile phone to be attached to and held on the vehicle body but also allows the driver to easily remove the mobile phone therefrom when he or she leaves the vehicle.
An in-vehicle placement device for a mobile phone described in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Utility Model Registration Application Publication No. Hei 5-49512) is an example of a device capable of holding a mobile phone in a detachable manner. This in-vehicle placement device includes a mount which is bolted to a vehicle, a sheath-shaped holder to which a mobile phone can be inserted and fitted, and a support member with a flexible structure which fixes the holder to the mount. Moreover, Patent Document 2 (Registered Japanese Utility Model No. 3017540) describes an in-vehicle mobile-phone holding device including a holder body, a swing support which is biased by a spring, and an adjustment arm which holds a mobile phone in cooperation with the swing support. The adjustment arm of the holding device described in Patent Document 2 has a structure which is adjustable in position according to the width of the mobile phone.
The conventional in-vehicle placement device and in-vehicle mobile-phone holding device described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 are configured to be capable of detachably holding a mobile phone. However, they do not take account of interference with peripheral parts. To secure visibility to the driver, it is desirable to provide a mobile-phone holding device in front of the driver, that is, in the periphery of the steering wheel. However, parts such as various operation switches and the shift lever are arranged in the periphery of the steering wheel. Thus, the mobile-phone holding device may possibly interfere with these peripheral parts, impairing the visibility and operability of the peripheral parts. On the other hand, if the mobile-phone holding device is so arranged as not to interfere with the peripheral parts, the visibility and operability of the mobile phone may be impaired.
Moreover, in each of the conventional techniques, the mobile-phone holding device, when not holding any mobile phone, remains fixed in the same position as when holding a mobile phone, or around that position. This may spoil the periphery of the steering wheel and thereby impair the appearance.